A small mention of self-harm towards the end so if that bothers you please scroll past!

--

Justin

I sighed when I opened my front door. "You could have called."

"I was in the neighborhood." Dimitri said with a grin. "Thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing."

"This could be considered stalking."

"Aren't you going to be polite and let me in? It's freezing out here." I slid to the side, allowing him to make his way into the foyer. I shut the door, leaning against it. "I take it you've put your money to good use."

"It's still in the bag under my bed."

Dimitri chuckled. "Funny, I thought you would have taken your girlfriend to a nice dinner with money like that."

My eyes shot up. "What?"

"Anastasia Romero. She used to live next door to you with her mother, father and younger brother. Until she got into a fight with her father, like bratty teenagers do, and now lives with her best friend Gavin. Works at the local convenience store in town, which is ironically managed by my only son."

I was stunned into silence. What a small fucking world? I didn't even want to be involved in any of this. And I'd die before Ana knew a single thing.

"Nathan is a pathetic excuse for a man. He was born into this life but has never had the guts to handle it."

"So what? I'm like your replacement son?"

"Precisely. I know many people, Justin. Which means that I have the means to know many things. I have the power to give you everything you could ever dream of. But I also have the power to make your life very difficult. The choice is all up to you."

"What about Gianna? How would you feel if someone used her against you?"

"I love Gianna more than words could describe. She's my daughter." Dimitri replied. "Ana, however, is not."

Anger curled at the pit of my stomach. "And if your son is a pathetic man, what does that make you?"

He didn't even flinch. "I've never claimed to be what I'm not, Justin. I know I'm not a good man. The same can't be said about your father."

My fists balled at my sides. "Don't you dare bring him up to me."

"So you managed to figure it out?" Dimitri was impressed. "At 8:30 tonight, you're going to drive to the train station. A man named Shay is going standing by the ticket booth with a backpack. It's half of the money he owes us for a set of paperwork we forged for him. Tell him that if he doesn't have the rest of it soon, for Christmas he'll get a bullet in his head. Understood?"

I stayed silent.

"This is a test, Justin. Are you willing to do anything to protect the one person you have left?"

"Obviously."

"Then prove it."

--

"Justin, wait a sec!" Ana's dad called to me when I was getting in my truck. "Long time, no see."

I nodded, "How are you sir?"

"I've had better months." He chuckled dryly. "Are you headed to see Ana?"

"Um, no. I have some errands to run."

"Look, I'm really sorry about your uncle. I can't imagine what you've gone through this past year. If you need anything, don't hesitate to come on over."

"Thank you, sir, I appreciate that. And can I offer you a word of advice?" I asked. "Go over to Ana's apartment one of these days. She misses you a lot. I doubt she'd turn you away if you just talked."

He nodded. "Thanks, Justin. I'll see you around."

I smiled, "Yeah."

The train station was packed on a Saturday night. Everyone was traveling in huge groups into the city most likely, reeking of cigarettes and beer and laughing obnoxiously. But I easily spotted Shay by the ticket booth, exactly where Dimitri said he'd be. His eyes were wide and he looked around like he expected to be attacked at any moment.

"Shay?" I asked to be sure.

He jumped and looked down at me. "You're Bieber? They hire young, huh?" His voice was shaky as he tried to joke around.

"Yeah, well." I held out my hand for the bag. "This is all of it?"

"Y-Yeah, for now."

"Dimitri said to have the rest soon," My words burned like bile on the back of my throat. "O-or you'll be getting a bullet in your head for Christmas."

Shay looked pained. "Creative isn't he?" His hand shot out around my wrist to stop me. "I was just trying to protect my family. My wife and two boys. They wouldn't have been able to stay in the country if Dimitri hadn't helped. I love 'em more life itself and I couldn't let them go."

I snatched my arm back quickly. "I'm not a therapist. Just get the money."

I jogged quickly back to the truck, fumbling to unlock the door. The tears were coming on and I needed to get out of here.

I was free. Richard died, and I was finally free from hating myself. I could rebuild everything and finally do things my way. It would take time but I'd had nothing but. But somehow, trouble managed to find me once again.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't threaten people. I couldn't have them look me in the eye, tell me their pain, and walk away like it was nothing. I was too good, I related too much. This was not the life for me. But Dimitri would never let me go. Not if he had something too valuable, too sacred to dangle over my head like a weight.

Hanging myself didn't work the first time. But now, I didn't have ten nurses up my ass at all times. I had four bottles of pills sitting on my sink. I could go home right now and end it all. End eighteen years of pure torture.

I was shaking as I pulled my phone from my pocket. "Hello?" Ana's voice went directly through me and I sat back in my seat, willing my trembling hands to stop.

"Hey babe."

"Hey Justin, what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing." I reassured her. "Just needed to hear your voice."

"Oh well," Ana laughed softly. "I love you, you know?."

I pressed my fist over my mouth. "Yeah, I know. I love you too, Ana. I really, really do." I'd never meant anything more. At the end of the day, when I had nothing left, Ana was more than enough. She was everything.

--

Helloooo

Hope you liked this chapter!

An update with me: I got my acceptance to one of my top choice colleges on Friday and I was crying and my dad and stepmom were crying and then I called my mom and she was crying. This is probably the happiest I've been a really long time and I'm just so proud of myself.

I love you all so much and I feel like I can't thank you all enough for all of your support and for your comments and votes on every single chapter. This story is so special to me and I want to write something great for you all.

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once again, i love you all so much